


Alone In The Stars

by flipflop_diva



Category: Passengers (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Falling In Love, Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-21
Updated: 2017-06-21
Packaged: 2018-11-15 16:58:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11235285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flipflop_diva/pseuds/flipflop_diva
Summary: Aurora had dreamed about what it would be like when she finally woke up. That first intake of real air after years of oxygen being pumped into her. That exhilarating moment when she couldn’t remember if she was asleep or awake and everything seemed both real and unreal all at once.It was nothing like that.





	Alone In The Stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jedibuttercup](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jedibuttercup/gifts).



> Written for jedibuttercup, who wanted an AU with a less problematic set-up. And since I have been dying to write one of those since the minute I finished watching the movie, I was really happy to get a chance to do so. I hope you enjoy!

She had dreamed about what it would be like when she finally woke up. That first intake of real air after years of oxygen being pumped into her. That exhilarating moment when she couldn’t remember if she was asleep or awake and everything seemed both real and unreal all at once. And then that moment of realization when she remembered what she signed up for and where she was — and _when_ she was — and how she would feel the nervousness and anticipation and excitement surge through her all at once again.

It was nothing like that.  
   
Everything was too bright, too intense. The air seemed to burn her lungs. Her body felt like it hadn't moved in months.   
   
And then she gasped, like a drowning person realizing they are out of the water, and realization flooded through her.   
   
But not the way she expected. Something felt wrong.   
   
She lifted her hands, pushed on the lid to her containment pod. It swung open easily.   
   
Climbing out, she was struck by a horrible sense of unease. None of the other containment pods were opening, none of the other machines were beeping. There was no noise, no chaotic sounds of awakening.   
   
Her bare feet hit the ground. The only sound on an otherwise deathly silent ship.   
   
"Hello?" she called, and she could hear the echo of her own voice long after she stopped speaking.   
   
Panic rose up in her chest. The air seemed to have trouble moving through her lungs.   
   
"Hello?!?!" she called again. Louder. Faster. She could hear the anxiety in the echoes.   
   
She started to run. Somewhere around her, she could hear a mechanical voice talking to her, informing her that her cabin was ready for her and that she would be meeting her orientation group soon, but she wasn't listening.   
   
She was the only one awake.   
   
•••

She ran straight into him as she tore through the front lobby of the ship for what was probably the tenth time. She had been around and around the entire vessel, each time hoping for a different outcome, each time hoping to see _someone_ , anyone, else. 

She'd checked the containment pods, found the crew's quarters, but everyone else was silent, still asleep. 

The robot in the bar had told her the awful truth she'd already known deep within her. 

She had awoken ninety years too early. 

The truth was too much to process, too overwhelming to take in. Her dreams of getting to live on a new planet, to help start a new civilization, of recording her experiences, of starting her life over had slipped through her fingers before she even had a chance to see them go. Instead she was going to die on the ship, alone, before anyone else even woke up to know something had gone wrong. 

And then she ran into him. Headlong. The collision sending them both flying, screaming out in fear. 

"Oh my God," she said. 

"Oh my God," he said. 

"How are you here?" they both said, at the same time. 

•••

It was better, having someone else be awake too, having someone else able to help. 

His name was Jim, and he was smart, ambitious. 

"I'm going to fix our containment pods," he said. 

Aurora wished him luck, but secretly she knew better. There was no going back. She helped him, though, finding schematics and manuals and handing him tools they could find and makeshift tools when they needed ones they couldn't find. 

He worked for hours, into the night and early into the morning. She brought him food and sat beside him. Sometimes they took a break, sipping on their drinks and looking at the other still sleeping people. 

"What do you think they’re like?" Aurora asked one night. She had been staring at a thin brunette with an oval-shaped face. 

"Ballet dancer," Jim said instantly. He pointed at the gruff guy beside her with the full red beard. "Gourmet chef."

Aurora took her turn. "Doctor," she said about a short blond girl. "Definitely an air conditioning salesman" for the guy who looked like he could be a model. 

It became their thing. They made up jobs and families and elaborate back stories. 

"On the verge of just giving up," was one story. "Until he took this trip as a last chance to make a lasting impact on the world."

"Which is good," Aurora added to the story. "Because on the day we wake up, he's going to hook up with the ballet dancer."

"And they're going to have ten children, all delivered by the doctor."

"Ten kids, huh?" Aurora smiled. 

"Definitely ten."

He kissed her then, right there in the containment pod room, surrounding by sleeping people. 

"I'm sorry," he said sheepishly when he pulled back. 

"I'm not," she said and kissed him again. 

•••

Eventually Jim stopped trying. The containment pods weren't meant to be fixed once opened. 

"We're going to die on this ship," he said one night. They were at the bar, sipping on their drinks. 

"Yes, we are," she said. She had accepted it a while back. Some nights, alone in her room, she still let herself be upset by it, still let herself cry for the dreams she once had, but she knew it was useless. 

"We could wake some people up," Jim had suggested one night. "Get them to help us."

"No," she said. "Absolutely not. We didn't get to pick this fate but we can not decide theirs for them."

"But if there's a way ...," he argued. 

"There's not."

•••

They found the med bay by accident. 

"A containment pod," they both whispered. 

They played around with the buttons for a while. 

"I can figure this out," Jim said, and Aurora knew he could. 

"You should go back in," she said. 

"No," he said. "What you're doing is more important. You should go back in."

"No," she said. "I won't leave you here."

"But you'd let me leave?"

"If it's what you want."

"What if it's not what I want?"

"What do you want?"

Jim smiled. "That's easy. I want you."

Aurora felt a sense of relief even though she hadn't realized she'd been worried. 

"That's good," she said. "Because I want you too."


End file.
